here tomorrow, "happening now" starts right now. have a great day. rick: hello everybody, i'm rick folbaum in for jon scott. julie: i'm julie banderas, and "happen position now", we are awaiting a news conference from president obama, with time running out to reach a deal on the debt crisis, remember, that looming debt crisis will expire august 2nd, they need to come up with a solution. the shedown is now turning ugly after an emergency meeting on sunday, republicans, democrats and the president, still not seeing eye to eye, failing to break the deadlock could lead to catastrophe, rick. rick: mike emanuel is live at the white house. as we wait for the president, what are we expecting him to say? >> essentially to make the case that he needs a deal, he wants a deal, and he told both sides, both the house and senate, republicans and democrats last night when they left, to come back with an idea of what would pass their respective houses, and

so we expect the president to set the stage, if you will, for today's meeting, which is set for 2:00, and to try to take his case right to the american people, to say you know, we need to get something done, august 2nd is coming. and we need basically people to come out of their respective corners to find some common ground, rick. rick: mike, both sides sort of digging in their heels here, their positions are pretty far apart. what could they possibly do to get enough votes to get something passed? >> that's the tricky question at this point, because we've heard the republicans say time and time again, we're not for raising taxes, the economy is too fragile, you've heard some democrats say don't touch the entitlements, medicare, medicaid, social security, and the president doesn't want one of these short term fixes, so he has to go back to the drawing board again. he has said, you know, pass something that will last us until 2013, until after the presidential election. so each of the respective parties have their own sticking points, and the things they want to see done in this deal, and it's not clear where they find common

ground to get it done. rick: is it possible there is some kind of a deal? otherwise why would the president come out today and hold this news conference if he didn't have something big to announce? >> reporter: well, i think it may be a matter of using the bully pulpit of the presidency of the united states, essentially putting publish pressure on lawmakers so come back to the bargaining table with some serious ideas that they're willing to give a bit to find a deal. and so it's the president being able to -- the power of the presidency being able to take his case directly to the american public to say here's what i want to do, here's why we have to do it, and here's why we need these other people to get in line or get on board. and so we will see if it helps to make his case or whether it causes the respective constituencies to say well, that's just wrong, we're not going to do that, and whether it, you know, extends the impasse or whether it leads to an ultimate breakthrough. it's not clear at this point. >> and there is the bully pulpit that mike was referring to.

mike emanuel, thank you very much, we'll see you after the president speaks. again, we're waiting for president obama to enter the white house briefing room. julie. julie: and the candidates for the gop2012 nomination have plenty to say about this heated debt debate as we wait for the president's news conference. steve centanni joins us live from washington, and we are waiting for the president to set up and talk to the nation for about an hour or so about the debt ceiling, and today's meeting is going to feature a discussion of tentative agreements that include cuts to farm subsidies, student aid, federal workers' pensions and domestic agency budgets, those are just among a few of the issues, and in obama's continued push for a grand bargain to make $4 trillion worth of decifit cuts over the coming decade, steve, do we believe that perhaps the president is going to come out and say that perhaps lawmakers are any closer to cutting a deal? >> role role -- >> reporter: we'll have to wait and see about that. there's one thing for sure, julie, no matter what kind of debt deal the two sides ultimately reach and we can

only hope they reach some kind of agreement, it's bound to be a major political issue in the upcoming election year. now, if taxes go up or tax loopholes get closed, you can bet the republicans on the campaign trail won't let you forget about it. the candidates have certainly not been silent on the issue up until now. congresswoman michelle bachmann, among the frontrunners in iowa right now, says the tax burden -- or the burden of tax hikes would fall on americans who are struggling. let's listen: >> if you ask small business owners like i did all across new hampshire, south carolina, and iowa last week and the week before what do we need to do to create jobs, they won't tell you raise my taxes, make sure i have more regulations, and oh, by the way, if all else fails, have men more government. that's just the opposite answer. so clearly, the president isn't listening to the american people. >> reporter: and texas congressman ron paul, also a candidate, adamantly opposed to cutting any deal with the

president that calls for a tax hike of any kind. he put out a statement today saying the fact is, republicans were put back in power during the last election to stop the runaway spending in washington, d.c., not to cut deals that increase taxes and spending. and candidate tim pawlenty urges republicans to hold the line in the current showdown. >> i urge our republicans in washington, d.c. to stand strong. the only way you get real change in washington, d.c. is to draw lines in the sand. and if you've noticed, most politicians are like running water downhill. they go to the point of least resistance. so it's helpful in having them do bold and courageous things to put up some points of resistance, and there is a moment here now, it's not an easy moment, but it's a dramatic and it's an important moment, for our conservatives in washington to stand tall, to stand strong, and stand courageously. >> reporter: however, pawlenty and a handful of other candidates, gop candidates, have said they

would support cutting some government subsidies, including that one for ethanol, a very hot topic in the growing first caucus state of iowa. julie: obama has also continued to remain very strong on the idea that taxes need to go up and republicans have said no way. there have been private talks between boehner and obama that led democrats to believe that the house speaker was actually willing to entertain revenue increases, and that is one of the points that the democrats want to push through as part of a full overhaul of the tax code rater -- later this year. is there any talk at all in washington of a possible compromise on behalf of democrats, when it comes to taxes? >> reporter: of course, democrats would like to see some kind of revenue. they say you need a comprehensive approach to this debt ceiling, you need to have some revenue coming in, as well as cutting spending to reduce the decifit, to reduce our ever growing debt and that

deadline as you know is approaching on august 2nd. now, democrats say we need to increase revenue, republicans have stood strong, as you heard tim pawlenty saying, you have to draw a line in the sand, they're not going to go for any kind of a tax increase or cutting back the bush-era tax cuts or ending the bush-era tax cuts or anything like that. they are drawing a very firm line in the sand and even on things like subsidies or clothing -- closing tax loopholes, republicans still very adamant against that. now, john boehner thought he had enough agreement on some of those to go forward and offer something, but apparently that fell through over the weekend and we're back to where we were for right now. julie: steve centanni, live in washington, thank you very much, steve. >> you bet. rick: congressional leaders are due back at the white house to try to hammer out a deal once again today. we are waiting to hear from president obama any minute now and we'll have that for you when we come right back, right here on "happening now".

julie: welcome back, everyone. you're watching "happen position now" and what's happening now, a big news conference about to get underway in washington. of course, a huge part of the economic debate is job creation. and who can forget the unemployment rate, jumping to a whopping 9.2% last week, the highest rate of the year. as hiring neared a standstill in june, the afl-cio is hosting a job creation forum and in the last two hours, point man for the president's job council headlines a jobs for america summit. a lot going on in washington and doug mckelway is there live. what are we hearing at this forum this morning? >> >> reporter: to be totally honest, blunt about this, it's really depress to go hear some heart felt stories about joblessness, putting a face on joblessness, with the new numbers, it became clear the economy is not improving, at least not to the extent it

needs to to get people back to work. listen to how difficult finding a job has been for these two people who spoke at this afl-cio jobs forum minutes ago: >> i've been unemployed since december 2009. it's been hectic. when you came out to go and search for a job, i was employed ten years at my last position. >> there are 60-70 applicants for every job and it's very difficult to rise to the top of a pile like that when there's a lot of other people that may be better qualified, have college degrees or beyond, so you do the best you can to make a good impression, and answer the questions properly, put together a good resume. >> reporter: if you noticed, both of those people were middle aged, an age group that finds it harder to get jobs because they have experience and often times higher salaries than their experience, and

therefore less negotiating power in today's environment. they also convey dollars the due humanizing component in job seeking this day, as one unemployed man recounted resumes at many large corporations are examined electronically through computer programs and sometimes no human being ever reads them. very depressing, julie. julie: it certainly is. and now more than ever, really, americans want to hear good news. tell us more about the second forum that we're keeping our eyes on at the chamber of commerce. >> the chamber will be hosting the -- >> let's take a listen. >> my perspective, then i'm going to take a few questions. as all of you know i met with congressional leaders yesterday, we're going to be meeting again today, and we're going to meet every single day until we get this thing resolved. the good news is that all the leaders continue to believe, rightly, that it is not acceptable for us not to

raise the debt ceiling, and to allow the u.s. government to default. we cannot threaten the united states' full faith and credit for the first time in our history. we still have a lot of work to do, though, to get this problem solved. and so let me just make a couple of points. first of all, all of us agree that we should use this opportunity to do something meaningful on debt and decifits. and the reports that have been out there have been largely accurate, that speaker boehner and myself had been in a series of conversations about doing the biggest deal possible, so that we could actually resolve our debt and our decifit challenge for a long stretch of time. and i want to say i appreciate speaker boehner's good faith efforts on that front.

what i emphasized to the broader group of congressional leaders yesterday is now is the time to deal with these issues. if not now, when? i've been hearing from my republican friends for quite some time that it is a moral imperative for us to tackle our debt and our decifits in a serious way. i've been hearing from them that this is one of the things that's creating uncertainty and holding back investment on the part of the business community. and so what i've said to them is let's go. and it is possible for us to construct a package that would be balanced, would share sacrifice, would involve both parties taking on their sacred cows, would involve some meaningful changes to medicare, social security, and medicaid that would preserve the integrity of the programs and keep our

sacred trust with our seniors, but make sure those programs were there for not just this generation, but for the next generation, that it is possible for us to bring in revenues in a way that does not impede our current recovery, but is fair and balanced. we have agreed to a series of spending cuts that will make the government leaner, meaner, more effective, more efficient, and give taxpayers a greater bang for their buck. that includes defense spending, that includes health spending, it includes some programs that i like very much, and it would be nice to have, but that we can't afford right now. and if you look at this overall package, we could achieve a situation in which our decifits were at a manageiable level and our debt levels were stabilized and the economy as a whole, i think, would benefit from

them. moreover, i think it would give the american people enormous confidence that this town can actually do something once in a while, that we can defy the expectations that we're always thinking in terms of short term poll fiction in the next election and every once in a while we break out of that and do what's right for the country. so i continue to push congressional leaders for the largest possible deal, and there's going to be resistance, there is frankly resistance on my side to do anything on entitlements, there is strong resistance on the republican side to do anything on revenues. but if each side takes a maximalist position, if each side wants 100 percent of what its ideological

predispositions are, then we can't get anything done, and i think the american people want to see something done. they feel a sense of urgency, both about the break down in our political process and also the situation in our economy, so what i've said to the leaders is bring back to me ideas that you think can get necessary votes in the house hoe and senate, i'm happy to consider all option, all alternatives that they're lookinging at. the things that i will not -- looking at. the things that i will not consider are a 30-day or a 60-day or a 90-day or a 180-day temporary stop gap resolution for this problem. this is the united states of america. and we don't manage our affairs in three-month increments. we don't risk u.s. default on our obligations because

we can't put politics aside. so i've been very clear to them, we're going to resolve this and we're going to tree solve this for a reasonable period of time, and we're going to resolve it in a serious way. and my hope is that as a consequence of negotiations that take place today, tomorrow, the next day, and through next weekend, if necessary, that we're going to come up with a plan that solves our short term debt and decifit problems, avoids default, stabilizes the economy, and proves to the american people that we can actually get things done in this country and in this town. all right? with that, i'm going to take some questions, starting with ben. >> thank you very much, mr. president. two quick comments. given that you're running out of time, can you explain what is your plan -- or where these talks go if republicans continue to

oppose any tax increases, that they have adamantly said they will and secondly on your point about no short term stop gap measure, if it came to that and congress wants it, i know you're opposed to it but will you meet that? >> i will not sign a 30-day or a 60-day or a 90-day extension. that is just not an acceptable approach. and if we think it's going to be hard -- we think it's hard now, imagine how these guys are going to be think thinking six months from now in the middle of election season when they're all up. it's not going to get easier. it's going to get harder. so we might as well do it now. pull off the bandaid. eat our peas! now is the time to do it. if not now, when? we keep on talking about this stuff, and you know, we have these high minded pronouncements about how we've got to get control of

the decifit and how we owe it to our children, our grandchildren. well, let's step up. let's do it. i'm prepared to do it. i'm prepared to take on significant heat from my party to get something done. and i expect the other side should be willing to do the same thing, if they mean what they say, that this is important. and let me just, ben, comment on this whole issue of tax increases, because there's been a lot of information floating around there. i want to be crystal clear. nobody has talked about increasing taxes now, nobody has talked about increases -- increasing taxes next year. what we have talked about is that starting in 2013, that we have gotten rid of some of these egregious loopholes that are benefiting

corporate jet owners or oil companies at a time where they're making billions of dollars in profits, or we have said as part of a broader package, we should have revenues and the best place to get those revenues are from folks like me who have been extraordinarily fortunate and that millionaires and billionaires can afford to pay a little bit more going back to the bush tax rates, and what i've also said to the republicans is if you don't like that formulation, then i'm happy to work with you on tax reform that could potentially lower everybody's rates and broaden the base. as long as that package was sufficiently progressive so that we weren't balancing the budget on the backs of middle class families and working class families and we weren't letting hedge fund managers or authors of best selling books off the hook. >> that is a reasonable proposition. so when you hear folks

saying well, the president shouldn't want massive job killing tax increases when the economy is this weak, nobody is looking to raise taxes right now. we're talking about potentially 2013 in the out years. -- and the out years. in fact, the only proposition that is out there about raising taxes next year would be if we don't renew the payroll tax cut that we passed in december, and i'm in favor of renewing it for next year as well. but there have been some republicans who said we may not renew it. and if we don't renew that, then the thousand dollars that's been going to a typical american family this year as a consequence of the tax cut that i worked with republicans and passed in december, that could weaken the economy, so i have bent over backwards to work with the republicans to try to come up with a formulation that doesn't require them to

vote sometime in the next month to increase taxes. what i've said is, let's identify a revenue package that makes sense, that is commensurate with the sacrifices we're asking other people to make, and then i'm happy to work with you to figure out how else we might do it. >> can you come up with a deal if they don't budge on taxes? >> i do not see a path to a deal if they don't budge, period. i mean, if the basic proposition is it's my way or the highway, then we're probably not going to get something done, because we've got divided government. we've got democrats controlling the senate, we probably are going to need democratic votes in the house for any package that could possibly pass, and so if, in fact, mitch mcconnell and john boehner are sincere, and i believe they are, that they don't want to see the u.s. government default, then they're going to have to compromise just

like democrats are going to have to compromise, just like i have shown myself willing to compromise. chip reid. >> thank you mr. president. you said that everybody in the room is willing to do what they have to do, wants to get something done by august 2nd, but isn't the problem the people who aren't in the room, and in particular, republican presidential candidates, republican tea partiers on the hill and the american public? the latest poll shows that only 24 percent of americans said you should raise the debt ceiling to avoid a catastrophe, there are 69 percent who oppose the debt limit, so isn't it a problem that you and others have convinced to -- failed to convince the american people we have a crisis here and how are you going to change that? >> let me distinguish between professional politicians and the public at large. you know, the public is not paying close attention to the ins and outs of how a treasury auction goes.

they shouldn't. they're worrying their family, they're worried about their jobs, they're worrying about their neighborhood. they've got a lot of other things on their plate. we're paid to worry about it i think depending upon how you phrase the question, if you said to the american people is it a good idea for the united states not to pay its bills and potentially create another recession, that could throw millions of more people out of work, i feel pretty confident i could get a majority on my side on that one. and that's the fact. if we don't raise the debt ceiling, and we see a crisis of confidence in the markets, and sud beenly, interest rates are going up significantly and everybody is paying higher interest rates on their car loans, on their mortgages, on their credit cards, and that is sucking up a whole bunch of additional money out of the pockets of the american people, i promise you, they

won't like that. now, i will say that some of the professional poll physicians know better. and for them to say that we shouldn't be raiseing the debt ceiling is irresponsible. they know better. and this is not something that i am making up. this is not something that tim geithner is making up. we're not out here trying to use this it is a means of all these other tough political things. i'd rather be talking about stuff that everybody welcomes like new programs or or the nfl season getting resolved, orioo unfortunately, this is what is on our plate, it's before

us right now, and we've got to deal with it. so what you're right about, i think, is that the leaders in the room here, at a certain point, have to step up and do the right thing, regardless of the voices in our respective parties that are trying to undermine that effort. you know, i have a stake in john boehner successfully persuading his caucus that this is the right thing to do, just like he has a stake in seeing me successfully persuading the democratic party that we should take on these problems hat we've been talking about for too long but haven't been doing anything about do you think he'll come back to the trillion dollars deal? >> i think speaker boehner has been sincere about trying to do something big. i think he'd like to do something big. his politics within his caucus are difficult,ure right, and this is part of the problem with a political process where folks are

rewarded for saying irresponsible things to winch elections or obtain short term political gain when we actually are in a position to try to do something hard, we haven't always laid the ground work for it. and i think that it's going to take some work on his side, but look, it's also going to take some work on our side in order to get this thing done. i mean, the vast majority of democrats on capitol hill would prefer not to have to do anything on entitlements. would prefer, frankly, not to have to do anything on would prefer not to have to do anything on some of these debt and deficit problems. and i'm sympathetic to their concerns. they are looking after folks that are already hurting and vulnerable. and there are a lot of families and seniors who are dependent on some of these programs. what i've tried to explain to them is number one, if you look at the numbers, medicare in

particular will run out of money, and we will not be able to sustain that program no matter how much taxes go up. i mean, it's not an option for us to just sit by and do nothing. if you're a progressive who cares about the integrity of social security and medicare, and medicaid, and believes that it is part of what makes our country great, that we look after our seniors and look after the most vulnerable, then we have an obligation to make sure that we make those changes that are required to make that are sustainable over the long term. if you're a progressive that cares about head start and student loan programs and medical research and infrastructure, we will not be able to make progress on those areas if we haven't got even our fiscal house in order. so, the argument that i'm making to my party is, the values we

care about, making sure that everybody in this country has a shot at the american dream, and everybody is out there with the opportunity to succeed if they work hard and live a responsible life, and the government has a role to play in providing some of that opportunity through things like student loans, and making sure that our roads and highways and airports are functioning, and making sure that we are investing in research and development for the high-tech jobs of the future, if you care about those things, then you've got to be interested and figure it out, how do we pay for that in a responsible way? and so, yeah, we're going to have a sales job, this is not pleasant. it is hard to persuade people to do hard stuff that entails trimming benefits and increasing revenues.

but the reason we've got a problem right now is people keep on avoiding hard things. and i think now is the time for us to go ahead and take it one. rich wolf. >> you keep talking about balance, and sacrifice, in the 4 trillion-dollar deal that you're talking about roughly it seems that we are now 4-1 spending to taxes, we're talking 800 billion in taxes roughly. that doesn't seem very fair to democrats. i wonder if you could clarify why we're at that level and if you could clarify your social security position, if any of the money from social security, even from chain cpi go to the defic deficit? >> with respect to social security, that is not the source of our deficit problems. social security is part of a package and would be an issue of how do we make sure social security extends its life and is

street end. the reason to do social security is to strengthen social security and make sure that those benefits are there for seniors in the out years, and the reason they include that potentially in this package is if you're going to take a tough of bunch votes you might as well do it now, as opposed to trying to muster up the political will to get something done further down in the future. with respect to a balanced package, is the panel that we're talking about exactly what i would want? no. i might want more revenues, and fewer cuts to programs that benefit, you know, middle class families that are trying to send their kids to college, or benefit, you know, all of us because we're investing more in medical research. so, i make no claims that

somehow the position that speaker boehner and i discussed reflects a hundred percent of what i want. but that's the point. my point is is that i'm willing to move in their direction in order to get something done. and that's what compromise entails. we have a system of government in which everybody has got to give a little bit. now what i will say is that the revenue components that we've discussed would be significant, and would target folks who can most afford it. and if we don't do any revenue, because you may hear the argument that, why not just go ahead and do all the cuts, and we can debate the revenue issues in the election? you'll hear that from some republicans. the problem is is that if you

don't do the revenues, then to get the same amount of savings you've got to have more cuts, which means that it's seniors, or it's poor kids, or it's medical researchers, or it's our infrastructure that suffers. and i do not want, and i will not accept a deal in which i am asked to do nothing. in fact i'm able to keep hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional income that i don't need, while a parent out there who is instrumenting lynn tis struggling outthere to findd their kids to college pounds they have a couple of thousand dollars in grants or student loans it's not because i want to raise revenues for the sake of

raising revenues or i have a grand ambition to create a bigger government, it's because if we're going to actually solve the problem there are finite number of ways to do it. and if you don't have revenues it means you are pu putting morf a burden on the people who can least afford it, and that is not fair. and i think the american people agree with me on that. sam stein. >> thank you, mr. path. president. the unemployment now is 9.2%. is now really a good time to spend trillions of dollars. and to pig bee back on the social security yes what do you say to members of your party [unaudible ]. >> our biggest priority as an administration is getting the

count throw on track and getting people back to work. without litigating the past i'm absolutely convinced and a vast majority of the economists are convinced that the steps we look in the recovery act saved millions of people their jobs, or created a whole bunch of jobs. and part of the evidence of that is as you see what happens with the recovery act phasing out. when i came into office and budgets were hemorrhaging at the state level, part of the recovery act was giving states help so they wouldn't have to layoff teachers, police officers, firefighters. as we've seen that federal support for states diminish, you've seen the biggest job lastess in the public sector, teachers, police officers, firefighters losing their jobs. my strong preference would be to

figure out ways we can continue to provide help across the board. but i'm operating within some political constraints here, because whatever i do has to go through the house of representatives. what that means then is that among the options that are available to us is for example, the payroll tax cut, which might not be exactly the kind of program that i would design in order to boost employment, but does make a difference because it puts money in the pockets of people who are then spending it at businesses, large and small, that gives them more customers, increases demand and it gives businesses a greater incentive to hire. and that would be, for example, a component of this overall package. unemployment benefits, again, puts money in the pocket of folks who are out there, you know, knocking on doors trying to find a job every day, giving them those resources, that puts

more money into the economy, and that potentially improves the climate for businesses to want to hire. so, you know, as part of a component of a deal i think it's very important for us to look at what are the steps we can take short term in order to put folks back to work. i am not somebody who believes that just because we solved the deficit and debt problems short term, medium term, or long term that that automatically solves the unemployment problem. i think we're still going to have to do a bunch of stuff, including trade deals before congress right now that could add tens of thousands of jobs. republicans gave here this list at the beginning of this year as a priority, something that they thought they could do, now i'm ready to do it and so far we haven't got even the kind of movement i would have expected. we have the potential to create

an infrastructure bank that could put construction workers to work right now to work on our roads and businesse bridges rigl across the country. that's where i think we could make enormous progress. i think if the country as a whole sees washington act responsibly compromises being made, the deficit and debt being dealt with for ten, 15, 20 years, that that will help with businesses feeling more confident about aggressively investing in this country, foreign investors saying america's got its act together and are willing to invest, and so it can have a positive impact in overall growth and employment. it's not the only solution, we're still going to have to

have a strong jobs agenda, but it is part of a solution. i might add it is the primary solution that the republicans have offered when it comes to jobs. they keep on going out there and saying, you know, mr. president, what are you doing about jobs? and when you ask them, well what would you do? we've got to get government spending under control, and we've got to get our deficits under control. so i say, okay, let's go. where are they? i mean, this is what they claim would be the single biggest boost to business certainty and confidence. so what's the hold up? with respect to social security, as i indicated earlier making changes to these programs is so defendant that this may be an opportunity for us to go ahead

and do something smart that strengthens social security and gives not just this generation but future generations the opportunity to say this thing is going to be in there for the long h aurbgs l. noa *urbgaul.social security isg term driver of our deficit and debt. we want to make sure social security will be there for the next generation. if there is a reasonable deal to be had on it, i would be willing to do that. i'm not going to get into the details of negotiations. i might enjoy negotiating with you, but i don't know how much juice you've got in the republican caucus. [laughter] >> that's what i figure. all right. leslie clark.

>> thank you, mr. president. you've talked kph*ebgss an kph*s and they agreed, have you talked to business leaders and who. >> i've spoken extensively to business leaders. i think business leaders in the abstract want a see a resolution to this problem. what i found is is that they are somewhat hesitant to weigh in on some of these issues, even if they are willing to say something privately to me, partly because they have a whole bunch of business pending before congress, and they don't want to make anybody mad. this is a problem of our politics and our politicians, but it's not exclusively a problem of our politics and politicians. the business community is a lot like everybody else, which is we

want to cut everybody's stuff and we want to keep our stuff. we want to cut our taxes, but if you want to raise revenue with somebody else's taxes that's okay. and that kind of mindset is why we never get the problem solved. there have been business leaders like warren buffet who i think has spoken out forcefully on this issue. some of the folks who participated in the bowles-simpson commission made it very clear that they would agree to a balanced approach, even if it meant for them individually that they were seeing slightly higher taxes on their income, given that i think the average ceo if i'm not mistaken saw a 23% raise this past year, while the average worker saw a zero to 1% raise last year. so i think there are a lot of well-meaning business people out

there who recognize the need to make something happen. but i think that they've been hesitant to be as straightforward as i'd like. when it says this is what a balanced package means, it means that we've got some sendin sendg cuts, it means that we have got some increased revenue, and it means we are taking on some of the driver of our long term debts and deficits. >> can you tell us whether or not -- >> i'm sorry. >> can you say as the clock particular towns whether or not the administration is working on any sort of contingency plan if things don't happen by august 2nd? >> we are going to get this done by august 2nd. george carmen. >> to following on chip's question you said that the speaker faces tough politics in his caucus. do you have complete confidence that he can deliver the votes on anything that he agrees to? is he in control of his caucus?

>> you know that is a question for the speaker, not a question for me. my experience with boehne john r has been good. i think he's a good man that wants to do right by the country. i think as chip allowedded to, the politics that swept him into the speakership were good for a midterm election, they are tough fofor go governorring. democracy works when people listen to each, we are able to keep each other the benefit of doubt. we assume the patriotism, good inch tepbg -gs of the other side and we're willing to make some sensible compromises to solve big problems.

and i think that there are members of that caucus that haven't fully arrived at that realization yet. >> your confidence in him wasn't shaken by h-pl walking way way from the big deal he said he wanted? >> these things are a tough process, and, look, in fairness, a big deal would require a lot of work on the part of harry reid and nancy pelosi and myself to bring democrats along. but the point is, is if everybody gets in the boat at the same time it doesn't tip over. i think that was bob doyle's favorite comment after striking a deal with the president and mr. gingrich back in the 90s, and that is always the case when it comes to difficult but important tasks like this. last question. april ryan. >> mr. president, hi. i want to revisit the issue of sacrifice. in 2009 you said that [unaudible

] now with the budget cut loom inks, you have minorities, the elderly as well as people who are scared that they will lose their jobs, fearful. also, what say you about the debt free america act, do you support that, or are you supporting the republican bill that is modeled after [unaudible ]. >> i'm not going to comment on a particular bill right now. let me speak to the broader point that you're asking about, april. this recession has been hard on everybody. but obviously it's harder on folks who have got less, and the

thing that i am obsessed with, and have been since i came into office is all those families out there who are doing the right thing every single day, who are looking after their families, who are just struggling to keep up, and just feel like they are falling behind no matter how hard they work. i got a letter this past week from a woman who, her husband had lost his job, had pounded the pavement, finally found a job, they felt like things were stabilizing for a few months. six months later he lost the second job. now they are back looking again and trying to figure out how they will make ends meet. and there are just hundreds of thousands of folks out there who

really have seen a tough a economy as we've seen in our lifetimes. now, we took very aggressive steps when i first came into office to yank the economy out of a potential great depression and stabilize it. and we were largely successful in stabilizing it. we stabilized it at a level where unemployment is still too high and the economy is not growing fast enough to make up for all the jobs that were lost before i took office, and the few months after i took office, so this unemployment rate has been really stubborn. there are a couple of ways that we can solve that. number one, is to make sure that the overall economy is growing, and so we have continued to take a series of steps to make sure that there is money in people's pockets, that they can go out

there and spend, that's what these payroll tax cuts president bush about. cuts were about. that's what the small business tax cuts were and companies that already willing to invest in skwreuplt, and zero captain gains for small businesses, that's what that was all about, to give incentives to invest. we have made sure that the training programs that are out there for folks who have to shift from jobs that may not exist any more, so that they can get the training they need for the jobs that do exist, that those are improved and sharpened. we have put forward a series of proposals, to make sure that regulations that may be unnecessary and are hampering some businesses from investing, that we are examining all those for costs and benefits, and if they are not providing the kinds of benefits, in terms of the

public health and clean air and water, and worker safety that have been promised then we should get rid of some of those regulations. so we have been looking at the whole menu of steps that can be taken. we are now in a situation where because the economy has moved slower than we wanted, because of the deficits and debt that result from the recession and the crisis, that, you know, taking an approach that costs trillions of dollars is not an option. we don't have that kind of money right now. what we can do is to solve this underlying debt and deficit problem for a long period of time so that then we can get back to having a conversation about, all right, since we now have solved this problem, that

is no longer what is hammering economic growth, that is not feeding business uncertainty, everybody feels that the ground is stable under our feet, are there some strategies that we could pursue that would really focus on some targeted job growth? infrastructure being a primary example. i mean the infrastructure bank that we've proposed is relatively small. but could we imagine a project where we're rebuilding roads and bridges, and ports, and schools, and broadband lines, and smart grids and take all those construction workers and putting them to work right now? i can imagine a very aggressive program like that, enthusiasm i buy the american people would rally around it and it would be good for the economy, not just next year or the year after, but for the next 20 or 30 years. but we can't even have that conversation if people peel as if we don't have our fiscal

house in order. so the idea here is, let's act now, let's get this problem off the table, and then with some firm footing, with a solid fiscal situation we will then be in a position to make the kind of investments that i think are going to be necessary to win the future. so, this is not a right or left conservative, liberal situation, this is how do we operate in a smart way, understanding that we've got some short-term challenges, and some long-term challenges. if we can solve some of those long-term challenges that flees frees up some of our energies to deal with the long teach energies as well. thank you very much everybody. >> reporter: we are going to get this done in the 15th sole owe news conference of his president

seat. he says the deal must and will get down. he wants a big deal and he says he will not sign a short-term temporary solution to the debt sealing debate. joining is now kristen powers, and doug high a former communicatings director for the rnc. the president says it's time to aet our peas, will the republicans join him? >> we certainly hope so. republicans have talked consistently about coming to the table and address these matters. what would he don't want to do is see any kind of a tax increase. i was communicating with speaker boehner's office this morning and they were very clear, no new taxes. the president talks about revenues, but that means taxes. if he gets his say he says we are going to raise taxes but do it after he might be after he's reelected, which is very similar to obamacare, which is something they want to prevent. >> reporter: it seems like the

president is sticking to his guns. bigness is what we heard from the white house last web. what is political calculation here do you think. >> i don't even know if it's as much of a political calculation than it is what he says. i take him at his word, if not now when? this has to be dealt with. both sides will have to take some hit from their base, and he's willing to take a hit when it comes to entitlement cuts, something that is just completely a na anathama to the, he will take a lot of flack for it. he expects the republicans to come to the table with attempts to give in on things though don't agree with, such as closing these loopholes for corporate jets and the like and the oil and gas companies. it's a reasonable expectation that i think both sides are going to have to give in this situation. >> reporter: thank you both for sticking around during the president's news conference. weee take a quick break. when we come back we'll have

more of "happening now" right here on fox.

rick: fox news alert, violence erupting at the u.s. embassy in syria today. supporters of the embattled president there bashar al-assad smashing windows and raising the syrian flag at the compound in today mass cast. coming the same day as they tried to push for assad to step down. 1600 civilians have been killed since anti-government protests bee again several months ago. hello, everybody, on a monday i'm rick folbaum in nor jon scott. julie: welcome to a brand-new hour on "happening now." i'm julie banderas. rick: president wrapped up a news conference at the white house. he talked about the need to make a deal with republicans.

the major sticking point right now taxes. he is pressing for a 4 trillion-dollar grand bargain, including new tax revenues of some kind and spend cuts that the republicans have been pushing for in exchange for raiding the debt ceiling. joining us now. julie: is the anchor of special reports bret bair. thank you for talking to us about this. this republicans continue to oppose any tax increases the question is what is the contingency plan? you asked that very question on fox news sunday this weekend. did you feel like you got a good answer? >> well, no, julie. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell wasn't ready to tell me what the contingency plan was. republicans may move forward with something like a dollar per dollar, you raise the debt ceiling by a certain amount and cut a certain amount, maybe it's $1 trillion. it certainly doesn't get you past the rehrebgs in 2012.

and you heard the president say he's not going to sign a short term deal on raising the debt ceiling. there is the sticking point. he says he wants to go big and include everything on the table, the tax revenue increases, as well as entitlement changes. here is what speaker boehner said a few moments ago on a radio show. he says, quote, i've been pressing the president all yore to go big, let's do something to get it done. the white house said it would be looking at all three entitlement programs. i told the white house, tax increases were off the table, i said if more revenues were what they had to had then they ought to be looking at comprehensive tax reform instead. the white house said it continue go there and couldn't agree to that vision of tax reform. that's when he decided to step away from the big deal. that was speaker boehner moments ago. that is the crux of the issue.

republicans won't sign onto anything that increases taxes. in fact more than 230 house members have signed a pledge they are not going to increase taxes ever in their term in office. and then you had this tax reform deal that essentially would tie -- make a deal now for something later, an agreement to restructure tax code and republicans couldn't figure how to get there from here. julie: we got those unemployment numbers last week and they were very depressing for americans who are out of jobs right now. mcconnell also said to you that a big $4 trillion bargain, that is big, and that's what obama wants, is off the table. here is what he said regarding the damming impact it would have on jobs. you might find this interesting if you missed it. listen. >> everything they've told me and the speaker is that to get a big package would require big tax increases in the middle of

the economic situation that is extraordinarily difficult with 9.2% unemployment. it's a terrible idea. it's a job killer. julie: do you feel the american majority feels that this would be a job killer? >> reporter: i think that republicans point back to the november elections and say they were elected not to raise taxes, and to cut spending and to overall cut the size and scope of government. that's what they see the mandate was from november 2010. as far as the increases you heard the president say today that he wants increases down the road in 2013, nothing right now arguing that the economy will be in better shape. politically at the end of that news conference was really i think the president lifting the curtain on what his plan ultimately is on the economy, and that is to as he put it get this problem off the table, meaning the deficit debt, and then essentially push for more government stimulus, a stimulus package that republicans argue

did not work before. so i think there is still a major rift here, and that republicans believe when you're borrowing 40-cents on every dollar the u.s. government is, that just getting the problem off the table quickly is not something that is going to be easy to do. julie: well it's certainly not easy to do when there is no compromise. and where is the compromise? because president obama came out and he's talking big numbers, he's talking $4 trillion. is there any compromise here? would it be easier if in fact they were to settle on a medium-sized prapblg if you will. a smaller size, half the size, maybe, 2 trillion. >> reporter: yeah that's what speaker boehner is saying now, that they have to stale it back. i'm saying from all sides that is not exactly ala a lay up eitr in basketball terms. it's going to take a lot of movement on both sides, and the president's argument is we're here, why not go the whole way

i'll give you a quick perspective. the president has had a number of opportunities up until this point, the state of the union address he didn't really focus on this issue heavily. he had a first budget that was essentially scrapped, the senate voted 97-0 and the first budget. the second budget came out and was panned. and now we are at this point. and so just to put in perspective about when the president says he's the guy pushing this train, there have been numerous opportunities in the past to do just this. julie: all right breat bret bai, thank you for talking to us. he hosts tonight at 6pm eastern time. we'll all be watching. rick: new information from owe potential action from the white house on america's gun control policies. the president promising to strengthen legislation in the wake of the tucson shooting that critically wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords, and six

months later it appears we could see some action. shannon bream is live in washington with more on this. >> reporter: for now it's a bit of a mystery exactly what the white house is planning on the issue of gun control. sources tell fox news the president will take some type of, quote, executive action. white house press secretary jay karen me says there has been a lot of work going on leading up to this point. >> the president directed the attorney general to form working groups with key stake hole tkers to identify common-sense mess burst that would improve american security while respecting second amendment rights. that processes well underway at the department of justice with stakeholders on all sides working through these complex issues. >> reporter: it's been six months since the horrific shooting in tucson which left six people dead and congresswoman gabrielle giffords injured. he outlinethe pressure is mounte

president to do something. gun advocates say they will be watching very closely. >> the administration does not have a great record on the second amendment. president obama has said things in his past to indicate he is not a friend of the second amountment. so of course his proposals need to be looked at very carefully. it's important to remember that the president is not above the constitution. >> reporter: both sides do agree on one thing, something has to be done about the background check system, not only of people like the virginia tech shooter slipping through the cracks but law abiding citizens say they increasingly are reporting their names on the list too, that forces them to spend time and money to clear their names. it's a large database, both sides say they are ready to see it overhauled. rick: shannon thank you. julie: new information surfacing on the death of an iraq war veteran at an amusement park. they are looking into why the disabled veteran was allowed on

a 200-foot ride. david miller is live with more and possibly to explain. >> reporter: an upstate new york roller coaster remains shut down this afternoon as the investigation continues into what went on friday evening when retired army sergeant james hacamer was thrown from a ride and killed. he lost both legs to a roadside bomb in 2008 while serving in iraq. he also suffered two strokes and brain damage and spent years in rehab. it is not clear if his physical limb taeugtss contributed to this tragedy or there was some type of mechanical failure. his sister said he died doing something he loved. >> he had a jest for life, and he did believe in living it to the fullest, and i know when this happened he was having a great time. we are trying not to feel guilty for taking him to the park that he wanted to go so badly to with us, there is a lot of emotions right now. >> reporter: now this incident has renewed the debate for federal oversight of fixed-site

amusement parks. the industry opposes further regulations and states safety statistics such as the chances of a rider being injured are one in 9 million. the chance of being killed on a ride, 1 in 750 million. the sergeant's tragic death denied his odds. following his return to iraq he told a local reporter that he was a man of faith. >> i want them to know that god has been there for me, has a hand on me. i want people to know that he is there for everybody no matter what they are going to, know he is always there by your side. so if you're town surpb to him, he'll pick you right back up. >> reporter: he will reportedly be buried at arlington national cemetery. he was 29 years old. julie. julie: david lee miller, thank you very much. a peaceful summer river cruise taking a deadly turn in russia. a cruise ship suddenly going down in choppy waters.

we'll have the latest on the search for survivors coming up next. plus, the family of a murdered u.s. border patrol agent now trying to get information about his death, preparing to sue even the federal government after an atf gun running scheme rent terribly wrong. let's head over to rick folbaum. >> this is you decide and we report. these are three stories. they are at the home page for "happening now" at foxnews.com. scroll down to see your choices. you can hear about new brothers who need some help from the raf. if you want to hear about that. there they are. we'll tell you the rest of the story. how about that goal, that women's soccer goal, an unbelievable kick. we'll have the replay for you if you want to hear that, or running of the bulls in new orleans, that's right. sounds kind of dangerous. you let us know what story you want to hear more and we'll have that for you coming up a little

pw*t later on in the show and we'll have more happening now right after a quick break. ugh, my feet are killin' me. well, we're here to get you custom orthotic inserts. we can't afford that. yes, we can. dr. scholl's custom fit orthotic center. foot-care scientists are behind it. ( man ) you have flat feet... no way... way. orthotic 440 is recommended. it recommends the custom-fit orthotic insert that's best for your feet. you'll get all-day relief. for your tired, achy feet. and you could save a couple hundred bucks. sweet. this is great. dr. scholl's custom fit orthotic center. thank you... who are you talking to ? for locations, see drscholls.com.

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julie: fox news alert emergency crews investigating a train collision in maine. you're looking at the map where it all happened, an amtrak train crack between amtrak's down easter. the rail authority saying that they were told that both the dump truck and the train caught fire. fire departments are right now at the scene. the emergency management agency is down there trying to investigate. we are told the passengers of the train are safe. still waiting word on the condition of the truck driver and the cause at this point

unknown. we'll stay on top of this breaking story coming out of maine. rick: we are over here at the foreign desk. new video has come in to fox news. a russian river boat cruiser where something went terribly wrong: what happened? >> this is from a river 450 miles east of moscow. on sunday the river cruise boat sank during a period of heavy wind and rain. according to one account the ship was making a turn, went away it watched over the deck. matches hatches and windows were knocked out and the boat flipped over. it reportedly sank in about eight minutes 2 miles away from the shore. there were over 200 people on the boat well over the 120 they were licensed to carry. many on the boat were children. 80 people have been rescued. 41 are con tkeurpld dead and 80 are still missing and feared to be dead. one sewer shriver reported that everybody came out of the water

alive did so covered with fuel. other ships reviewed to come to their help. the president has called for a full investigation and says tuesday will be a day of morning for the victims and we'll let you know as more information comes in. rick: terry connor, assignment editor at the foreign desk. you hate when so many kids are involved in something like that. over to you. julie: major developments to tell you about in the case of a u.s. border patrol agent murdered near the u.s.-mexican border. brian terry's parents ready to sue after a sting called fast and furious. william la jeunesse joins us live with more from los angeles. >> reporter: you know, it's rare to recover damages for government negligence or in competent. by statute government workers are immune from prosecution. for example in that botched raid in waco texas where members of

the dividian cult were killed, no liability. in this case the department of justice knowingly allowed many thousands of guns into the hands of mexican cartels and watched as casualties mounted. agent brian terry died patrolling this area near tucson in december. prosecutors claim this man pulled the trigger, but the search for justice won't end there. >> theub who puanybody who put s in the killer's hands may be liable. >> reporter: this was the u.s. attorney for seven years. >> i have never seen an investigation where guns were intentionally allowed to walk. that sort of thing doesn't happen, ought not to happen. >> reporter: but in operation fast and furious it did, exposing the u.s. government to

liability. >> brian terry's loss was preventible, it was regrettable and preventible. >> reporter: congressman darrell issa called for hearings after learning the atf helped sell thousands of guns to known criminals. >> i was flabbergasted. i didn't believe it at first. >> reporter: the terry family says it doesn't want u.s. officials prosecuted criminal until lee in brian's death, but civil court is something else. >> if the evidence shows that brian's death was approximately caused by the negligence of a government then there may be a cause of action there. >> reporter: charlton's investigation is just beginning so there is no certainly that they will file a claim. what we do know, however, is that the congress of mexico, the senate and the house of deputies does plan on holding hearings into fast and furious later this month and that will put pressure on the obama and calderon administrations to document the murders there tied to these fast and furious guns. back to you. julie: william la jeunesse,

thank you. rick: quick break. when we come back, what would you give for an internet free of cyber crooks and hackers? there is a new idea that offers just that, perhaps, but you'll have to give up something important first. plus how the casey anthony verdict got this guy arrested. we've got the story. eggland's best eggs. the best in nutrition... justot better. high in vitamins d, e, and b12. plus omega 3's. there's one important ingredient that hasn't changed: better taste. better taste. yum! [ female announcer ] eggland's best. the better egg. is besabsorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. new citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal.

julie: new information now on some of the crime stories that we are watching for you here. the casey anthony verdict reportedly sparking a fight at a florida pier. witnesses say this man a 42-year-old guy hit a woman during a brawl. that apparentlyee ruplted after the man said that he'd like to maybe have kids with anthony. police arrested the man on charges of battery. the longtime girlfriend of

alleged gangster james "whitey" bulger going before a judge today. she is on right. she is requesting bail on charges of harboring a fugitive. prosecutors say his gal pal spend 16 years on the run with bulger before his capture last month. jury selection is back underway in roger clemens perjury trial in a federal courtroom. he's accused of lying under oath when he told congress he never used performance-enhancing drugs. rick: internet security is a major issue these days, and there are lawmakers in washington who have a new idea, a so-called dot security domain, essentially a grand new internet. here is the catch. users would voluntarily give up their fourth amendment rights to privacy in exchange for an internet without crooks. we have larry castro. good too see you, sir, thank you for being here. before we get into the controversy that a lot of people are pointing out, how would this

work? >> ric, it will be and internet domain very similar to the ones that you and i use in the.com or the.edu world. users will be required to do away with their anonymity. they would have to be very specifically identified, even perhaps to the identity of the particular machine they were using, and each time they logged on they'd have to go through a very rigorous authentication procedure. rick: practically speaking for somebody who wants to log onto the internet would you use the existing internet to do some things that you like to do online and then use this more secure internet to do online banking, for example or stuff like that? >> exactly, rick that is the premise. some of the technical discussion has suggested that maybe you would want to have two different machines to a meal rate some of

the vulnerabilities you exist when you use one machine for both purposes. that is an implementation detail to work out. rick: the computer makers are probably in favor of this if it means have to buy another computer. let me ask you about the aspect that involves people for going certain privacy rights that we have in order to secure this secure.net connection. what is that all about? >> i would disagree with you when you sayee give up our 4th amendment rights. what we give up is our identity. when i log on as larry castro in.secure you will know that i am larry castro, i live in a certain place near annapolis and am logging in from a certain address. once one i will be protected by all the 4th amendment rights that i have as an american.

i think it's a little hyberboly to say we give up our 4th amendment rights to be able to interact more securely. rick: are we close to this happening. >> oh, no, no, i think i would stress this with your viewers. this is a concept that is getting good discussion as efed by the last week or so. it needs to have both the policy implications as well as many of the details worked out. for example, whether you would really need to have two machines to be able to access the different domains. rick: one more question, sir, as for the hackers, can we really outsmart them? these are people that seem to come up with new and inventive ways to get them. if we start this won't they figure out a way to breach security on a new internet? >> what will be very, very important is that that online identity that we maintain in.secure be as protected as well as we could, but surely there is ols going to be those who will try to infiltrate and

try to take chang of the situation, but i would tell you that in my 44 years experience in government and now two years out in industry, this is one of the real out of the box ideas that deserves a full hearing both on the hol seaside from the congress as well as the technical innovators. rick: we appreciate you coming on and giving us your thoughts on this. nice to talk to you sir. >> thank you. julie: greece's debt crisis could be spreading. we'll tell you which european country could be the next one to feel the pain. plus, mila k u.n. is making one u.s. marine very happy. she is doing her civic duty, she is serving her country. how is she doing it? we'll tell you about a posting on youtube which made a dream come true. rick: she is a patriot. woman: saving for our child's college fund was getting expensive.

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julie: this is a fx news alert. -- fox news alert. you're looking live in wayne, new jersey, multiple fire crews from several different engines responding to a condominium on near. -- fire. you can't see the condo building as it is engulfed in very, very thick flames. the wind conditions seems there are not helping firefighters at all. these firefighters are fighting this on brittany drive at burden avenue. we not know what caused it.

this is very early stages. you can see the flames are very, very much alive. we'll continue to watch the fire and get more information what started this thing and more importantly how the residents of this condominium complex in wayne, new jersey, are and if any were at home at the time this thing started and or if they got out okay. we don't know the condition of any residents. still very fresh breaking news. we'll stay on top of it for you. rick: from jirz so pa. we just in. we love to build them up and when they come down. watch this. there she goes. that is the bridge that used to connect washington and westmoreland counties in pennsylvania for a long, long time. that bridge is no more. now in the river. the bridge was not doing so great with some of its safety inspections. they decided to take it down and build a new one. a new, safer one. want to show you pictures of the bridge coming down. this bridge first built in

1907. julie: a ferocious series of storms ripping through the upper midwest, packing powerful and damaging winds in the southern plains. in fact the problem though is the blistering heat. as the record temperatures soar into triple digits the storms and the heat are now on the move. where are they headed? janice dean live in the fox extreme weather center with all the answers. hi, jenna. >> julie, yes, extreme heat and unbelievable damage from those storms. i want to show you chicago. over 660,000 people without power, mostly in the northern suburbs because of this line of thrms thunderstorms that moved through earlier this morning. wind gusts 80 maerp. o'hare, gait hold and taxi delays of two hours because of powerful storms. this is the signature we're dealing with. extremely strong winds and long-lasting wind event moving through the detroit area, toledo and through portions of the ohio river

valley and through the central appalachians. to give you a look. we have a moderate risk just changed for portions of ohio, indiana through the central aplach chance, a slight risk of severe weather. the ongoing event throughout the afternoon and evening hours. but again, there is that red shaded areas where we think all of these ingredients are going to come together for the potential of severe weather. as julie mentioned, the heat over a dozen states under some sort of heat advisories in the maroon here. heat warnings where heat indexes are going to be above 100 degrees. in some cases 110 what it feels like with the humidity added on. so those are the current temperatures. 90 already in kansas city. 92 in memphis. but you factor in the humidity, what you feel like if you're not protected outside, feels like 102 in memphis. it is just the early afternoon, julie. this will be an ongoing event not only today but

tomorrow and midweek for a lot of folks across the country. back to you. julie: thank you, janice dean. >> okay. rick: stocks around the world are hitting a slump today over concerns that italy could be the next victim in the eurozone debt crisis. bad news for europe's third largest economy. joining us dennis berman "the wall street journal"'s deputy bureau chief. good to see you. thank you very much. >> good to see you. rick: we've had our eyes focused on greece and their problems. now italy? >> the problems in greece are actually, far, far smaller than the ones in italy. the prices people are willing to pay for italian bonds or government bonds, they continue to fall and fall. that means, potentially real problems for italy, for its banks, and sort of think down the line and start thinking about the euro itself. rick: what happens if italy's economy takes a major hit? what happens to the euro? >> you know, there are a lot of scenarios being discussed right now but the euro is in

probably greater threat than it has been since the creation not that long ago in 1999. so with the euro currency under threat you have real potential instability across europe not just in italy but spain is something some problems right now. that gets to the question of germany and france, how long and they continue to support and put billions of dollars into these struggling countries. rick: what does it mean for us here in the u.s.? >> in some ways it is good news and bad news. bad news, further instability to europe tend to translate over here to america. when that happens, people don't want to invest in stocks. they don't want to put their money to work. they get very risk averse. we saw it in 2008 to the worst degree. if there is a silver lining people want to own the u.s. government bonds. they will seek the safety of the u.s. market. that might keep interest rates low so you can go out about spending e however --. rick: yeah. >> the real complication is congress which is debating

about the debt limit. even the safety of the united states is somewhat under question. rick: i wanted to ask you about that because we just heard from the president within the last 90 minutes or so. >> right. rick: he says a deal will get done. a deal must get done but not everybody is so convinced. there are republicans out there even democrats who don't necessarily think it would be such a bad thing if a deal was not reached to raise our debt limit. let me ask you to respond. this is secretary of treasury timothy geithner on cbs yesterday morning. take a listen. >> first of all the people who say that we could take the risk and default, there is no responsible leader that argues that would be a credible -- >> no responsible leader, mr. secretary but that does seem to be the prevalent view amongst many republicans in the house. >> not prevalent. >> and some democrats. >> political moment. people trying to get attention. they say really amazing things. but there is no credible argument, no responsible leader would say the united states of america for the first time in its history should not pay its bills, meet its obligations that

would be catastrophic for the economy. rick: is he right, catastrophic? >> i think he is pretty close to being right. look what the markets are telling you now. the markets are telling you they do not believe a default is coming. politics is one thing. everyone will jawbone one way or the other but the markets, right now, the market for government debt is as strong as it's been for a long time in part because of the fears in europe but also because people at least right now, don't view it as a credible threat. geithner i think is correct. we as a country need to stand behind our debts and if we don't, catastrophe or not, the consequences could be severe. rick: the dow is down. you see the arrows on the bottom right, almost 145 points this morning. >> yeah. rick: what do you think the market's response is as we get closer and closer to this august 2nd deadline if no deal is reached? then the flipside, what do the markets do if and when a deal is reached? >> i think right now the markets are building in some deal they will finally

bridge the gap and i don't think we can expect necessarily a lot of movement postively if they do that but should things get worse as time goes on, and you know how washington works? of course they will press it to the deadline. we could see some real instability and in the bond markets and in the stock market. rick: deputy bureau chief of "wall street journal" owned by the same parent company of fox news, dennis berman. good to see you. >> pleasure. rick: julie over to you. julie: since we're friends i don't have to be secure about my body. >> come on you're beautiful you have nothing -- >> that is not being supportive. walk that down. >> the ass is a little bony. >> much better. julie: latest tip of mila kunis the star of friends with benefits acting as a love interest for one of our brave marines. you may know her best walking the red carpet. now she has another event on her calendar. you love this she will go to the marine corps ball with

sergeant scott moore. what a lucky guy. he posted the invitation on youtube. wow! he got a little help from justin timberlake, the co-star on friends with benefits, urging kunis to say yes. that she had to do it for her country. this is exclusive by the folks at foxnews.com/entertainment. we told kunis about the video. you can get all the date request details and check out the video at foxnews.com. rick, don't get any ideas about posting anything. rick: listen if you don't ask, the answer is no. i give the guy a lot of credit. i hope they have a good time at the ball. when we come back we'll have news, breaking details on the fire we've been telling you about at a housing complex in new jersey where winds are whipping those flames around. we'll have the very latest after a quick break. plus new reports of a major power struggle in iran between the country's president and its supreme leader, its religious leader, what it means for the u.s. and its allies in the region. that's straight ahead

>> well the president says that he will get a deal but he also tipped his hand what he plans to do if he gets one. michelle malkin, lou dobbs and bret baier all joining me as we wait for word on that out of the white house. and border agent brian terry's family wants answers from the u.s. government about his death and now they have a new weapon of their own in that fight, and he will join us here on "america live". and he was injured in iraq but made it home. but this weekend he was killed in an awful accident at an amusement park. his story is straight ahead. and also this, china sees an opening in space. now they want to build their own international space station. how will the u.s. respond to that? coming up top of the hour on "america live". we'll see you then. rick: fox news alert now. and a fiery collision between an amtrak train and a dump truck about a half hour south of portland,

maine. this is what is left after that dump truck plowed into the train, both caught fire. we're told. and there are reports that the person who died was the driver of the dump truck. we're hearing from the northern new england passenger rail authority saying she believes all passengers on board the amtrak train are safe. so that is good news but there are still emergency officials on the scene who are taking a look at the situation. this is a train that connects portland, maine, to boston, massachusetts. again a fiery collision between a dump truck and an amtrak train about a half an hour or so south of portland. julie: political turmoil rocking iran. president mahmoud ahmadinejad scaring off in a power struggle with the country's chief religious leader. the battle for control carries big stakes for security of the u.s. and its allies in the region. james rosen is live in washington with more on this. hi, james. >> reporter: hi, julie. this clash between iran's

two most powerful public figures simmered for years came into the view last 90 nice. he has been the supreme leader since 1989 his authority seldom tested. mahmoud ahmadinejad a more familiar face is in his second four-year term as president. he challenged the ayatollah firing minister of intelligence and foreign minister both proteges of the ayatollah. when ahmadinejad tried to fire the new intelligence minister, another hamani loyalist and he had enough and ordered him reinstated. ahmadinejad spent almost two weeks sulking at home until he sent the president discrete reminder he could be fired remember thousands of brave irrapian protesters beaten, prisoned and denouncing ahmadinejad re-election as a fraud? now more than 100 lawmakers in iran's parliament, have done the same thing and

formally demanded an investigation into that election. so the many of ahmadinejad's own loyalists have been arrested and so many leaks have challenged his stewardship of the iranian economy where unemployment is thought to hover around 30%, that analysts like malani have begun to ask whether this episode remarks the end of ahmadinejad. the fight between populist president and isolated supreme leader he writes in the current issue of the "national interest" magazine, makes the aisle toe law more depend on the iranian revolutionary guard and gangs of street thugs and bullies it controls and uses to intimidate the disgruntled population. only how their power will be shaped in the future that remains to be seen. but for u.s. policymakers, julie, there are other questions is mainly how this affects the iranian nuclear program and whether there is any useful way for the washington to exploit the

internal struggle gel between the ruling questions. more tonight at 6:00 with bret baier. rick: a passenger train jumps the tracks in india leaving hundreds trapped in a mountain of twisted steel. we'll have the latest on the desperate rescue effort coming up next. plus like something out of a movie. archeologists in israel uncovering a 3,000-year-old lost city once home to some of the bible's biggest bad guys, goliath as in david and goliath. have you heard of him? we'll have amazing details coming up.

rick: here's an eye on some of the stories we're keeping an eye on for you today. international stories. railway workers began clearing a the wreakage of a derailed passenger train in northern india.

crews have recovered 68 bodies. at least 239 passengers were injured when the train jumped tracks. the u.k. is lowering its assessment of the threat of a terrorist attack the risk level dropping from severe to substantial. an explosion at a military base in cypress killing 12 people. the blast reportedly caused by confiscated iranian weapons. the government is ruling out sabotage. julie: okay ol exists in southern israel making a major discovery shedding new light on biblical history, uncovering a 3,000 years old met trop police once inhabitatted by the phillistines. unonce inhabbed by goliath. the warrior defeated by a young king david. joining me on the phone the archeologist in charge of the dig, arenmaeir. what a wonderful find. one of many archeologists

excavated pretty compelling evidence. what did you find in the city of gath? >> in israel it is good evening. over there good afternoon. we've been excavating at the site for more than 15 years and we just started our 15th season. we have about 100 and something people from all over the world and we found a lot of evidence of a very thriving and interesting culture and, when you read the biblical text and sort of get the picture of phyllis steins ultimate enemy of the israelites. you get that they're barbarian culture. they're very much sophisticated culture. at even certain times more sophisticated than the israelites. julie: at the "happening now" homepage we posted a question who were the bible bad guys. greeks, philistines and jordanians as we know the

answer is the phillies steens. they are the archenemies of israelites. what is it about what you found or proves or disproves that theory? >> well i think, first of we not a lot about philistines from the biblical text. it is idealogical text written by israelites so they clearly view the enemies in clearly subjective manner. what we can provide here is to have a view of daily live of the phillistines and sort of understand what's behind the descriptions of the phillistines in the biblical text. the biblical textual louisiana to the fact that they come from somewhere outside the region. we can show very clearly that the philistines in fact arrived from somewhere near ancient greece. philistines of names not

semitic as goliath and others we show this based on the archaeological evidence. we can even show very simple things of daily life, substantial ill differences between the phillistines and israelites which in ancient times defined the two cultures. just like today we very often define the differences in ethnic groups based on what they wear and what they eat. for example the phillistines ate and pig and dog meat. israelites wouldn't touch that. these are things that were probably very substantial. when you look at stories of sampson fighting against the phillistines. he didn't only fight against them. he also married a couple of them. it is very intricate relationship between the phillistines and the israelites. julie: and still is. thank you very, very much, we appreciate you coming on. we're going to take a break. we'll come right back. state right there with diabetes, it's tough to keep life balanced.

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rick: and let's take a look at very exciting moment for women's soccer team